Soo Locks

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St. Mary's Falls Canal
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
U.S. National Historic Landmark
Aerial view of the Soo Locks. View is to the east, with Canada on the left and the United States on the right
Location:	Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan
Built/Founded:	1837
Architect:	Corps of Engineers
Architectural style(s):	No Style Listed
Governing body:	ARMY CORPS OF ENGINEERS
Added to NRHP:	November 13, 1966
Designated NHL:	November 13, 1966[1]
NRHP Reference#:	66000394[2]

McArthur lock from the inside

The first Soo Locks in the 19th century

A whaleback traverses the Poe Lock, ca. 1910

The Soo Locks allow ships to travel between Lake Superior and the lower Great Lakes. The locks pass an average of 10,000 ships per year.^[3] This is achieved in spite of the locks' being closed during the winter, from January through March, when ice shuts down shipping on the Great Lakes. The winter is used to inspect and maintain the locks.

The locks bypass the rapids of the St. Marys River where the water falls 7 meters (21 feet) from Lake Superior. Sault Ste. Marie (pronounced Soo Saint Ma-ree) gives its name to both the Canadian and U.S. cities at the site, in Ontario and Michigan, respectively. The Sault Ste. Marie International Bridge between the United States and Canada permits vehicular traffic to pass over the locks.

[edit] U.S. Soo locks

The U.S. locks form part of a 1.6 mile (2.6 km) canal formally named the St. Marys Falls Canal. They are owned and maintained by the United States Army Corps of Engineers. The first of the U.S. Soo Locks were completed in May 1855.

• Davis Lock was built in 1914. It is 411 meters (1350 feet) long, 24 meters (80 feet) wide and 7 meters (23.1 feet) deep. The Davis lock is used rather infrequently to lock light freighters, tour boats, and small craft when traffic warrants. SS James A Farrell was the first vessel to lock through.

• Sabin Lock was built in 1919. It is 1350 feet long, 80 feet wide, and 23.1 feet deep. This lock has been placed in caretaker status and no longer used.

• MacArthur Lock was built in 1943. It is 244 meters (800 feet) long, 24 meters (80 feet) wide and 9 meters (29.5 feet) deep. This is large enough to handle ocean going vessels that must first pass through the smaller locks in the Welland Canal. First vessel through was the SS Carl D. Bradley.

• Poe Lock was re-built in 1968, after the Saint Lawrence Seaway had opened. It is 366 meters (1200 feet) long, 34 meters (110 feet) wide and 10 meters (32 feet) deep. It can take ships carrying 72,000 tons of cargo. The Poe is the only lock that can handle the large lakers used on the upper lakes. This lock was originally engineered by Orlando Poe.

• New 'Super-Lock' is the new project to replace the Davis and Sabin Locks. Groundbreaking for the new lock was held on June 30th, 2009.^[4]

2008 Panorama from the MacArthur Lock

[edit] Engineers Day

On the last Friday of every June, the public is allowed behind the security fence and cross the lock gates of the U.S. Soo Locks for the annual Engineers Day Open House.^[5] Visitors are able to get close enough to the ships passing through the two operating locks to touch them.

[edit] Canadian Soo locks

The first lock was built in 1798 by the Northwest Trading Company. It was destroyed in 1814 in an attack by the U.S. The current Canadian lock, the only Soo Lock on the Ontario side, was built in 1895. It broke down in 1987 and a new lock was built within the old lock. The lock was reopened in 1998 and is used for recreation and tour boats. It is 76 meters long, 16 meters wide and 3 meters deep.

The Soo Locks are a well developed tourist site that offers viewing stands to watch the locks at work and tour boat trips through the locks. It is now designated a National Historic Site of Canada (see: Sault Ste. Marie Canal).

[edit] References

33 CFR 207.440 33 CFR 207.441

[edit] External links

• Soo Locks homepage US Army Corps of Engineers Soo Locks page
• Web Camera view of the American locks
• Aerial photo of locks; note ship in lower lock
• Animation of how the Soo Locks work.
• Soo Locks Visitors Center website
• YouTube video HD video of a ship passing through the MacArthur Lock

Coordinates: 46°30′09″N 84°20′54.6″W / 46.5025°N 84.3485°W / 46.5025; -84.3485

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